LIBRARY ANNEX 2 . I §^i ^■' ""MWi. L' i .b f - vkWfyfmii^'m^MiiiSiSiWd . Wmm -A^ OJorttcU Imograitg Htbrara JItliata, Ktm ^ark CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GfFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 Cornell University Library BV 2065.S86 God's earth, or, Well worj',^,,,3,,|'JliSSMM|i 3 1924 023 021 466 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023021466 4'- ^'r^'^" A GORGE IN THE YANG-TSE. God's Earth; OF. Well Worth. 31 P^iBfjioimrg §00k foif §og.?) aiwt (iirt.^. Bv SARAH GERALDINA STOCK, Author of '■'■Lessons on Israel in Egypt and in the Wilderness,^' " The Story of Uganda," &=€., &=€. CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY, ,,- Salisbury Square, E.G. m ■ ' W ](o'^t Printed by J\s. Truscott & Son, Siidolk Lan-, E.G. CONTENTS. Introduction vii I. The Arching Sky ; or, Love on High . . i II. The Billows' Play; or, The Great Highway . . .8 III. Mountain Heights ; or. Glorious Sights i6 IV. Rivers Flowing ; or. Out and In Going . . .26 V. Spreading Plains ; or. Prayer and Pains . ... -36 VI. Forest Ways ; or. Pains and Praise . . . . . 44 VII. Upland Vales; or. Pleasant Tales ... . .55 VIII. Ice and Snow ; or, He will Go . . ... 62 IX. Great Lakes ; or, Strange Mistakes . . . .70 X. Earthquake, Storm, and Flood ; or. All Things work for Good . 76 XI. Wild and Tame ; or. In His Name 88 XII. Of Every Tribe and Nation ; or, a Wonderful Salvation . . 96 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. A Gorge in the Yang-tse The Egyptian Sphinx. Brahmin Worshipping the Sun A Chagga Palm A Chagga Storehouse An Ancient Ship A Steamer going down the River On the Track of Out-going Missionaries — Port Said . 12 On the Traclt of Out-going Missionaries — Suez Canal ' 13 Mrs. Hinderer 14 Near the Summit 16 " Looking down on things below " 17 In Sierra Leone . 19 At Rabai (Sketch by Bishop Tucker) 20 Graves of Early Missionaries in East Africa 21 In the Hills of China 22 In the Himalayas. 23 A Toda . 24 " Gliding peacefully between . woods " 26 Traders' Boats on the Niger 27 Niger Scenes . . 28, 29 Banks of the Nile at Ghizeh 30 On the Yang-tse River at Ichang 31 Boat ascending Rapids on Chinese River 32 On the Banks of the Yang-tse River 33 A Mission Station in Tinnevelly 37 Palmyra Palms and Palmyra Climber 38 " They talked to all who would listen " 39 The Rev. John Thomas . 40 Nuddea District Associated Evangelists 41 " A Watery Journey without a Boat " 43 West African Fan Palms 44 Oil Palms in West Africa 45 A Scene in West Africa . . 47 Entrance to Palisaded Village 48 Scene in Taveta (Sketch by Bishop Tucker) 49 The Rev. Henry Baker, of Travanrore 50 An Arrian Village 51 Crossing a River with Arrians 52 A Ceylon Village Scene 53 In the Valley of the Jordan 54 The Vale of Kashmir 55 PAGE PAGE ispiece A Town in the Vale of Kashmir S^ 3 Kashmir Houses . 57 4 Temple at Bezwada S8 5 Prayer House ■ 59 S Chinese Catechists 60, 61 10 A Missionary in Travelling Dress 63 II Bishop Horden, of Moosonee 64 Moose Factory, Capital of the Diocese of Moosonee 65 Albany, Hudson's Bay, Diocese of Moosonee 65 Eskimo and Igloes 68 Sunrise on the Victoria Nyanza (Sketch by Bishop Tucker) 70 Map of the Victoria Nyanza 72 Bishop Hannington 73 On Foot in Uganda 74 Mika, a Christian Helper in Uganda 75 " Come over and help us " . 77 A Village in Japan near the Scene of the Earthquake 79 After the Earthquake — Inhabitants sleeping in the open air . 80 Some Effects of the Earthquake in Japan 81 Funeral of one of the Victims at Daybreak 81 An Arab Dhow 83 Storm on the Victoria Nyanza (Sketch by Bishop Tucker) 84 Zanzibar (Sketch by Bishop Tucker) 85 Hospital at Quetta (back view) 87 Just in Time ! 89 Sacred Bulls 91 An East African Lion . 92 An African Camp by Night 93 A Snake Charmer 94 An Arab Horseman 95 Druids' Stones 96 A Sikh of the Punjab 98 A Native of Bengal . 99 The Nations of the Earth 100, loi A Scene in Ceylon . 102 An Eastern Idol . 103 The Lost Sheep 104 Miscellaneous I, 2, 8, 9, 15, 35, 36, 62, 78, 88, 90, 94, 95 Qod's Qarili; or, ^^^^l^^MPy^ XD^^^ XZlortK. INTRODUCTION. HAVE you ever thought how it is that without leaving your own country, or even your own home, you can know some- thing of what other countries are Hke, all over W the world ? How is it that nice books have been written to tell you these things ? It is because men — and a few women too — have taken the trouble to go and find out all about them. If they had not taken long and toilsome journeys, and gone through many dangers and hardships, we should have had no geography books, and no nice stories of travellers. There are so many curious and beautiful things in the world that they thought it well worth doing. But there are many sad things to be seen, and many sad sounds are going up to God from the earth that He once made " very good." For it has been spoiled by sin. And yet God did not give it up. You know what it cost Him to save sinners. He "spared not His only begotten Son, but Well worth " doinz- ■i> ■ delivered Him up for us all " (Rom. viii. 32). He thought ic well worth the cost because He "loved the world." Millions of people all over the world have never heard this. Where some have heard a little they want more teachers to help them to under- stand it, and God has charged those who know the good news to carry it to others. Is this an easy matter ] Not at all. It means leaving home, and friends, and comforts. It means long journeys, learning difficult languages, living among strange people, much danger, much fatigue. When a missionary goes to visit people who have never yet had any one to teach them, they cannot believe he has come to do them good. Sometimes they think he is a wicked man who dares not stay in his own country ! Some- times they fancy he wants to take away their land, to get power over them and injure them. When they begin to understand what he says, many are angry with him. They are slow to learn, they are forgetful, they are changeable. You know the great enemy, Satan, delights to have people sitting in darkness, so he tries to keep them from letting in the light. The missionary has many a hard struggle, and he is often weary. But he is happy too, for he loves the work, and since God thought it well worth giving His Son for sinners, the missionary thinks it ivell worth spending his life in making known the good news, for Christ's sake. I want to take you to some different parts of God's earth, and show you what His servants are doing there, and how He has blessed them. And I am sure you will think it zvell worth doing what you can to help them. OD'S ARTH CHAPTER I. THE ARCHING SKY; OR, LOVE ON HIGH. DO you think it strange that our first chapter should be about the sky ? That is not the earth, you may think. But what would our earth be without the sky? If we were like moles, burrowing in the ground, perhaps we could manage without it ! But as we are human beings, living on the outer surface of the globe, the sky is as necessary to us as the ground under our feet. Besides, the sky which we see does belong to the earth. For we see only part of the atmosphere which surrounds us, the "firmament," or expanse which God spread over the earth when He created it, like a tent (Gen. i. 6—8 ; Isa. xl. 22), and it is through this firmament that the wonderful "lights" which He made and appointed to govern the day and the night shine down upon us. You know that these lights are far, far away. Even the moon is two hundred and forty thousand miles distant, while the sun is as far off as IV/iat the Simbeams do. ninety-one million of miles, and the stars farther still ! And from that far distance the sunbeams, in all their warmth and beauty and power, come to our little world, so small in comparison with their wonderful home. They paint our fields and our flowers, they make the little buds open into blossoms, they lie lovingly on the sea, and light up even the little pools. And they shine through our windows, and their soft warm touch brings bright- ness into our homes. I am sure you like a fine, sunshiny morning ; a holiday is twice as pleasant if the sun smiles oipon you and the sky is blue. I knew a little girl who was feeling very happy one bright spring day ; .'^he looked up at the smiling sky overhead, and said in her soft little prattle, "Jesus made that sky; Jesus is God, but I like to call Him Jesus." You see she looked up beyond the sky to the Maker and Giver of all, and His love made her heart glad. Nearly three thousand years ago a shepherd boy was watching over his father's sheep by night. He, too, looked up at the great arch of heaven spread out above him, and he thought how wonderful it was that the God who had made that sky with all its glories cared for men and women down here. Do you remember what David said about it .■" " When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained ; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him.^"' (Ps. viii. 3, 4). Yes, just as the sky so far, far away over your head seems to reach down and clasp the earth all round, so the love of God on high comes down and embraces this world of ours — comci down to you and to me that it may make us holy and happy. You all know this. You have heard that "the Iieavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handi- work '' ; and " As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear JB^^HHikf i^ Him" (Ps. xix. i, ciii. 11). But there are millions who never heard it, and many of them have never Sun, Moon, and Stars. THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX. (See p. H-) understood the message given by God's wondrous works, but have worshipped them instead of Him. The ancient Egyptians used to worship their bright clear sky as a goddess, under the name of Neith. But this was only one of their deities. They worshipped bulls, beetles, and crocodiles as well. The ancient Hindus, when they saw the refreshing showers come down on their parched land, thought Indra, the rain-god, had sent them. But Indra wasonly one among many. A missionary tells us that the wild Masai tribes in East Africa have one word for sky and rain, ngai, and that this is their word for God. But of Him who sends "' rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness " (Acts xiv. 17), they know nothing. Most nations have worshipped the sun and the moon, and even the stars. The Syrian idols of whom we read in the Old Testament, Baal and Ashtoreth, represented the sun and the moon, and if you turn to 2 Chron. xxxiii. 5, you will find that Manasseh, the wicked king of Judah, who A horrible " Dance." succeeded the good Hezekiah, actually built altars in the court of the temple of God for " all the host of heaven." I daresay you know that our forefathers called the days of the week after the idols they worshipped, and the first two were Sun-day and Moon- day. Have you seen a picture of the Sphinx, that great colossal figure of Egypt with the head of a man and the body of a lion ? This figure is believed to have been built to represent the sun-god, and there used to be a shrine between the huge paws, where worship was paid to it. The heavenly bodies were adored also in Arabia, until the false prophet Mohamrned arose. ; Some of the North American Indians have a great reverence for :the sun, and keep a festival once a year in its honour. At this festival the young men used to go through a most frightful perform- ance called the sun-dance. It consisted in swinging by ropes passed through their flesh until they were torn and bleeding and exhausted. This was thought a very fine thing to do. But I am glad to tell you that since the news of a God on high, who loves and who sent His Son to die for sinners, has been brought them, this horrible "dance" has stopped. There is a place in New Guinea called Motu- Motu. Here the sun used to be regularly wor- BRAHMIN WORSHIPPING THE SUN. Waiting for what?" 5 uhaltua Palm. shipped at certain seasons. The people would put on their best clothes, and sit up all night to watch for sunrise. When at last the sun appeared they would bow their heads and pray to it, until it got high in the sky. How sad to have waited and watched, and then to pray to a thing that cannot hear! How much happier those who can say, like David : " My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning : I say, more than they that watch for the morning" (Ps. cxxx. 6). Bishop Tucker, who reached East Africa the second time two years ago, sent home this telegram to the Church Missionary Society : — " Africa Waiting!' Waiting for what } Waiting for the Sun of Righteousness to rise and shine and chase away the darkness ; waiting for the good news of God's, love to sinners ; waiting for men — and women too — to come out and tell it ! Yes ! Africa is waiting, though the Africans do not know it. And India is waiting too. If you were to go to India you might see the Brahmins coming out at sunrise to perform their devo- tions, and often standing still at them all day. And every day they say this prayer to the sun out of their ancient books : — " Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine Vivifier [that is. Life-giver]. May he enlighten our under- standing ! " Is it not our bi.isiness to help them to know the true Life-giver f On the slopes of the great snow-crowned moun- tain, Kilima-Njaro, in Last Africa, is a country called Chagga. The people of Chagga think all their bless- ings come from the sun, which they call enia, and erua is their word for God. A Chagga man told a mis- sionary that the sun was the greatest of all things. '\ IJ^J A CHAGGA STOREHOUSE. 6 " Bivana Isa's Match" " But," said the missionary, " which is greater, the candle, or the man who makes and lights it ? " " The man who made it," was the reply. " Then," said the missionary, " don't you see that the sun is God's candle ? He made it, and He lit it." He went on to tell the man of the Lord, the Sun of Righteousness, who makes dark hearts bright and bad people good. "What is his name .'' " said the man. " Bwana Isa" [Lord Jesus]. When they came to say good-bye the moon was shining brightly, and the missionary remarked how beautiful it was. "That,'' said the man, "is Bwana Isa's match.'' It was a pretty saying, but you know it is really just the contrary. The moon does not light the sun, but God uses the sun to light up the dark moon, and it is because the moon is turned to the sun and reflects its light that we get the lovely silver moonlight. Every Christian ought to be like the moon ; his face turned towards jESUS, the Sun of Righteousness, so that he may reflect His glory, and help to light up the dark world. For where the earthly sun is brightest, the world is often darkest ! And the people who worship the sun know that it can give them no help in the hour of trial and sorrow. It is grand and glorious, and it warms them, and it ripens their fruits, but it cannot touch the sorrowful heart. A missionary was one day preaching in China, and telling the people how " God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." A Chinaman stood by, listening intently to all that was said. W^hen the missionary had finished this man spoke out with a loud voice and said, " Ever since I was a child my heart has been full of hunger. I used to look up at midday to the bright sun and say, 'O sun ! take the hunger ofl" my heart ! ' But the sun did not hear me. Then at night I would look up to the moon and say, 'O moon! take the hunger off" my heart!' But the moon never helped me. All my life my heart has been hungry. But to-day I have heard that God loves me, and that He sent His Son to die for me; and the hunger is gone from my heart." There is a country in East Africa called Giriama. It is full of hills and " If ive did our duty — ." 7 valleys and forests, and the people are a fine race. But what is their idea of God ? They call the sky Mulungu, and tins is their word for the Creator also. And what do you think the neighbours say when a little baby is born in Giriama ? Do they say, " God bless it " } Oh no ! They think if God notices the child some harm will surely come to it. So they say, " May God forget it ! " The fact is, that the Heathen are nearly always afraid of the gods they worship. They fancy many of them are envious and cruel, and think they must be kept quiet by offerings. A lady travelling in North China passed by a bridge over a river. The arches of the bridge rested on massive piers sunk in the sand. She wrote, " There is probably the body of a child buried beneath each of those piers, the girls on one side and the boys on the other." It seems that the people thought the way to make some of their bridges safe was to bury a little living child just where each pier was to be sunk, thinking that would please their gods. The poor parents whose little ones were taken away for this purpose had some money given them, and they never spoke of the children again. Is it not true that " the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty " 1 (Ps. Ixxiv. 20.) Do you not long for more missionaries to go out and tell these poor heathen of the love of God .'' "Did God love me like that," said a poor Hindu who heard the Gospel for the first time, "and no one ever told me before t " A poet once wrote that — " There are million hearts accurst where no fair sunbeams shine, And there are million hearts athirst for Love's immortal wine." That is true ; and it is the love of God they are thirsting for, whether they know it or not. Nothing else can satisfy them ; and he wrote another true thing — " This world is full of beauty, as angel-worlds above ; And if ive did our duty, it might be full of love." If all who knew the love of God had tried to let others hear of it too, there would not be millions whom the news has never reached. Shall we, each one, try to do our part now } THE BILLOWS' PLAY; OR, HIGHWAY. THE GREAT DOWN on the beach, with the waves roll- ing up, all sparkling in the sunshine — is it not pleasant? Here are some children building a castle of sand, with a moat round it for the waves to fill. Others are throwing stones into the water, trying how far they can send them. Some people have brought their books and are busily reading, while others are watching the waves as they rise and fall, and creep gradually a little higher and a little higher, on the shore. Which shall we do? I want you to sit down with me and have a talk about those waves. They are very pretty to look at, and the fresh breeze that plays over them, and the salt spray, bring colour to many a pale cheek, and make the tired ones feel ever so much stronger. But that is not all. Look at the boat that has just pushed off from the beach. See how lightly it rides on the billows, farther and farther, till it is a long way off. Look at that ship in the distance, moving so gracefully along the water. There is another, and another, going in different directions. A girl who saw the sea for the first time, after she had watched the boats, and the fishing smacks, and the steamers, said, "Why, there is a great A Road which is free to all. deal more going on at sea than there is on the land 1 " And she was not wrong. For the sea is the Great Highway of the world, the road which is free to all, and which will take you right round the earth. Suppose you are staying in the country, and you see from the window a hill, or a farm-house, or a railway-bridge, and you think you should like to get there. You start off, down the garden, perhaps, and across a field, because that looks the shortest way. But then you come to a high fence-; the ground beyond it is private, and you are not allowed to pass. Or there is a marsh in the way, where you would find no safe footing, or a wood, full of thorns and briars, and no footpath. You find you must come back. And next time you start on your expedition you take the high road. It is very much like that in the great world. Suppose a man wanted to travel from France to India. He might go by way of Germany, Austria, and Russia. Then he would have to cross the mountains, and would get into strange countries where the people might not allow him^ to pass. But if, instead of doing this, he got into a steamer at Marseilles, he would be carried along the water highway without any exertion until he reached the shores of India. I doubt whether English people would ever have seen South Africa if they had had to begin at the north and make their way right through the Continent. There are deserts and rivers in the way, and wild tribes who will not always let a stranger pass. But you can reach the " Cape " quite easily by the Great Highway, which is free to all — and which never wants mending, like some of the roads at home. It took men some time to find this out. After they began to build sailing ships they only ventured to sail along the coast, where they could see the land. After a time they grew bolder, and steered their course by the stars. And so in time men got from Egypt and from Syria to Greece, and from Greece to Italy, while the ships of Tyre and Sidon sailed all along the north coast of Africa as far as Spain, and per- haps farther still, v^ But no one eyer ^^^ ventured across ^ the great ocean. ijl "■j._ ,,.— *' ^-""--^ Down at the Docks. //^~n ^' " ' i\''ow it is quite different. That ==s^i*i=s!'^'-i^^fe^'^S^&iar-— wide, wonderful highway of water is ^^S^^^^^^^F5a£^33^S£i^ constantly crossed and re-crossed by ^al^^l^^^^^^^^^^^g^^^S" ships passing to and fro. Some of K^^te»s^^^ffli^^SS's=:«-> ^^^ ^^jj ^j^^j. j^^g made the AN ANCIENT SHIP. {See p. 9.) -ir , ^u ^ J T I difference. You know that wonderful little needle called the magnet, which always points to the North Pole. Terhaps you have a little compass of your own, and can tell, even when the sun is hidden, where the north is and where the south. It was in the fifteenth century that the compass was invented, and this made it first safe to steer a vessel across the ocean far out of sight of land. Since then the Great Highway, once looked upon as a watery desert, has become well known, and for thousands of miles the captain of a ship is as sure of his way as the driver of an omnibus in London ! And the waves, which look as if they meant just to play and enjoy themselves, are really bearing vessels full of goods and passengers to every quarter of the globe. Some of these passengers go across the ocean for pleasure or for business. Some go to earn their living or make their fortune abroad. Some go for their health. And some go for the best purpose of all — to carry the glad news of a Saviour to the dark parts of the earth. I wish you could go down to the docks some morning in September or October, when one of the great " P. and O." (Peninsular and Oriental Company's) steamships is about to start. How interested you would be to see the huge vessels, the crowds of people going to and fro from quay to deck, the Lascars from the East, in their white dresses and red scarves, running up and down with luggage. You would like to walk round the deck, and down below to see the beautiful saloons and the cosy cabins where the travellers must stow away their things in a vejy small space, and be careful not to tread on one another's toes ! But look at the little group gathered together at one end of the deck. They all kneel down and pray together. That is a band of missionaries, with friends who have come to bid them farewell. There arc a few tears shed, for many are parting from fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters. But presently a sweet hymn of praise rises from tlie group : — " .\11 hail the power of Jesu's Name 1" Steaming Away. 1 1 It is in the power of that Name they are going forth, and so their faces are bright and their hearts are brave. " I felt," said one young lady who was leaving all her relatives behind, " that I was going soinczvhere with Jesus." At length the last farewell is said, the friends have to leave the ship, which presently begins to move slowly away, but they stand on the quay waving their handkerchiefs till the travellers pass out of sight. Down the Thames goes the huge steamer, and in a few hours she has reached the Great Highway ; she is out on the ocean. For the present, however, she keeps not far from land, rounding the coast of Kent and passing through the Straits of Dover into the English Channel. Though the Channel is pretty wide it is very full of vessels passing and re-passing, and as much care has to be taken to steer the ship safely as to drive a carriage in one of the much-crowded streets of London. It is a very pleasant road in fine weather. But one vessel carrying a party of lady missionaries to India was overtaken there by a violent storm. The waves washed over the deck, and carried away some of the deck-chairs they STEAMER GOING DOWN THE RIVER. 12 Storms and Straits. ON THE TKACK OF OUT-GOING JI ISSIO.N A Kl KS - PORT SAID. had brought to use on the voyage. Down below some of the passengers were much alarmed, and some were ill. The young missionaries were not afraid, for they knew that they were in their Father's keeping, and that " the sea is His, and He made it " (Ps. xcv. 5), and they did ail they could to help and cheer those around them. By-and-by the vessel rounds Cape Ushant and soon enters the Bay of Biscay, famous for gales and storms. There are not many who escape being ill in this Bay ! Then past the north-west corner of Spain, and along the coast of Portugal, until at last the Straits of Gibraltar are reached — by nightl perhaps, when the tall Rock towers up grandly in the moonlight. Through a Canal. 13 Now the party arc in that part of the highway so well known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Mediterranean Sea. Beautifully blue is this sea, but often stormy ; and as they pass Malta the travellers call to mind that dangerous voyage made by St. Paul as a prisoner, when the ship was wrecked off the island (Acts xxvii.). Farther and farther westward, until they reach Port Said in Egypt. Yeirs ago travellers had to disembark at Alexandria, proceed overland to Suez, and there take another vessel — for the Isthmus of Suez then united Asia and Africa. This was a great hindrance, and was the most troublesome part of the journey,- and every one was very glad when the Frenchman, M. de Lesseps, succeeded in cutting a canal right through the Isthmus, so that vessels can pass through into the Red ON THE TRACK OF OUT-GOING MISSIONARIES — SUEZ CANAL. Please think! Sea. In the Red Sea it is very hot, and all are thankful to get to Aden, at the farther end of it. From Aden some will go south- ■ , wardalongtheeast coast of Africa, and some westward through the Indian Ocean, to various ports of India, Ceylon, China, or Japan. But some missionaries go quite another way. They take ship at Liverpool or Southamp- ton, where steamers are starting for many different places. Some are bound for West Africa. They, too, will pass through the Bay of Biscay, and go on southward, past Madeira to Sierra Leone or Lagos, or farther still, to the mouth of the river Congo, or yet farther, to the Cape. Others will cross the Atlantic Ocean, and land in North America. Some of these are going to work among the Red Indians. Others will travel by rail right across the American continent, and then cross the great Pacific Ocean to Japan. Many of these — and others too — leave England in September or October. There are generally several bands of missionaries going out at this time. But some will start at other times of the year. You may be sure there are always missionaries afloat on the Great Highway, fresh ones going to countries they have never yet seen, sick ones and tired ones coming home to rest, many who have rested going back to their beloved work. Will you think of them sometimes .' God is thinking of them and caring for them, and He likes Mis children to do the same. Often these voyages to distant lands are pleasant, but now and then the missionary has discomforts and trials. I knew a lady who was once in a terrible storm on the Atlantic, when the ship was tossed up and down like a plaything among MRS. HINDERER, CMS. Missionary in the Yoruba Country^ 1 Died June 6th, 1870. "No more Sea." IS the mighty waves. She thought of a friend to whom she had lately said good-bye in England, sitting on the beach listening to the gentle plash, plash of the soft waves over the sand. When you are listening to that " plash, plash," think of those who are far from home, and it may be sick or in danger. Mrs. Hinderer, who was seventeen years in the Yoruba country, made several voyages, and used sometimes to suffer very much. She even said she had felt as if she would be so thankful for some one to take her up and throw her into the .sea. But she went through it again and again, for she loved to work for Christ among the black people. But though there are perils on the sea we ought to be thankful to God for giving us such a highway. Have you read in the Book of Revelation that in the " new earth " which God will make some day there shall be no more sea — and have you ever wondered why.' Many have wondered why; and a poet wrote some lines saying how much he should miss it ! Some people say it is because the sea separates land from land, and men from men. But I should not be surprised if there is another reason : there tvill be no need then of the Great Highway. For there will be no strange countries and strange peoples, and no need of missionaries to travel about with the Gospel message. All nations will love one another then ; and God has said, " They shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know Me, from the least of men to the greatest" (Jer. xxxi. 34). We shall not miss the billows' play then, for we shall have something far more beautiful : " The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. ii. 14). CHAPTER III. ^l MOUNTAIN HEIGHTS OR, GLORIOUS SIGHTS. w HIGH of you good climb uphill? I think nearly every boy and girl will answer, "I! I!" For, when you are young and strong, a climb is delightful, almost better than the quick run down hill again. I am quite sure when you see a nice hill you want to get to the top of it. That is generall)' the case with travellers ; the mountains they pass may be high and steep, and even crowneJ with snow, but the young and active always want to get to the top of them. Why is it? Partly, I expect, because we like to be above everything else, partly because we like what is a little hard, and partly because of the fine views to be seen from the mountain tops, looking down on vallej-s and towns, and woods, and rivers, and lakes, and perhaps on the clouds below. Looking Down. 17 If we cannot get up the mountains and look down on things below, we can sometimes look up to them and see the sunshine lighting them up, and the shadows playing on their slopes and the grey twilight gathering like a soft veil about them. These are beautiful sights too. But mountains, grand and beautiful as they are, seem sometimes very much in the way. Do you remember how Xerxes, king of Persia, set out to conquer Greece and found Mount Athos right in the road he wanted to take 1 And so he actually sent orders to the mountain to get out of his way. Of course it stood as still and firm and high as ever, and the foolish, haughty king found he must either go round it or stay where he was. When we speak of "mountains in the way," we mean things that hinder, difficulties ih -v 4 ■ liirt <.i*M>!»e- n H n iMlHttf^^r 't-^ "LOOKING DOWN ON THINGS BELOW. 1 8 Small Beginnings. which look as though they could not be got over ; but there is one King at Whose bidding these mountains will move. Find Zech. iv. 7, and see what the Lord promised to Zerubbabel, the leader of the Jews, when there were mountains of difficulty in the way of rebuilding the Temple at Jerusalem — "Who art thou, O great mountain ? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain" — and remember how the Lord Jesus said that if His disciples had faith in Him they might say to such a mountain, "Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea." In the story of Missions there are many mountains — mountains of difficulty, and actual hills too. It would take a long while to tell you about them all, but we will look at a few. But first I want to ask you a question. What is it that God sees most beautiful upon a mountain ? I daresay before you get to the end of this chapter you will think of the answer. It was in the year 1799 that a few servants of God met together and founded the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East. The last five words of the title are usually dropped now, for the Society started Missions in the south, in New Zealand, and in the west too, in North America. There were very few at first who cared to join the new Society, and though by the close of the first year they had got together about £g\.i, they could find no missionaries to send out ! Three years later the first two started for West Africa, but they were both Germans, and for some time no Englishmen at all offered themselves. The Society has now about six hundred missionaries in various parts of the world, and every year more ofifers of service come in from both men and women. So you see tliis mountain of difficulty has become a plain. Some of you have read in another Missionary book called Whafs d Clock? about Sierra Leone, the ' Lion " mountain on the west coast of Africa, with its sharp peaks rising up into the sky, its green forests, and streams of water fertilising the valleys where arrowroot, the cocoa plant, tobacco, and the sugar-cane grow. This was almost the first country occupied by the Church Missionary Society. Work had been started a little farther to the north, but it was found best to centre the early efforts of the Society here. The " Lion " mountain indeed proved a mountain of difificulties, but by God's grace the missionaries persevered, and one after another was overcome. I should like to tell you of one of the small difficulties, and how it was got Run-away Scholars. 19 over. You have all heard of Adjai the rescued slave-boy, who later on became Samuel Crowther, the first " Black Bishop." When he was at school at Freetown in Sierra Leone he was anxious to learn, and took get on. But many of his schoolfellows were just the contrary. They thought lessons very tire- some. At last they ran away into the " bush " or forest, and would not come back. By-and-by a new teacher came to ' the school. This was a lady who knew how to please chil- dren. She brought nice pictures to show them, and she taught them to dance round in a ring and sing — " This is the way we wash our hands To go to school in the morning." Little Adjai thought this delightful, and he went off to the bush to tell the 20 Tivo Men: ^>-r^*"l;-<>%* tAff^^mmr^ '^■J -i'.. 'i • AT RABAI. (Sketch by Bishop Tucker.) boys who had run away what fine times they were having at school. The runaways came to peep at what was going on, and they were soon at their lessons again. Now I must take you right across Africa to a range of hills on the east coast, overlooking the ocean. They are not very high, but they are picturesque, and the view you get from them is a lovely one. Let us look at those hills nearly fifty-three years ago. There are villages here and there, consisting of houses not unlike bee-hives. The people are very ignorant and superstitious, and have never yet had a white man to live among them. Here are two men toiling up a steep ascent to one of the villages called Rabai. One of them is so ill that he is obliged to ride a donkey, and he looks more fit to be in his bed than here. The other is climbing on foot by his side. Their names are Ludwig Krapf and John Rebmann, and they are the first missionaries to East Africa. They Sorrow and Loss. 21 are going to found a little mission station at Rabai, for the "elders" of the village have given them permission to live there. And then— what next? Ah ! There are grand thoughts in their minds. They are not going to be content with telling only the people of Rabai about the Saviour. They look forward to other missionaries joining them, and to the Gospel being carried to new and unknown nations whom no traveller has yet reached. They are taking possession of East Africa in the name of the Lord Jesus, these poor, sick, weary-looking men ! Do you want to know how they got on .'' They met with disappointment after disappointment. Other men who were sent out to help them either fell sick, or went home again. One of these helpers died, and Krapf lost his wife and child. They suffered hardships of all kinds, and at last, after nine years, Krapf was too worn out to remain in Africa any longer. He went home to Germany and busied himself with preparing grammars and dictionaries of the strange African languages for other missionaries who should follow. Rebmann stayed at his post until he was old and blind. He had a few Christian converts " > . * » §'^-1^ )t.^-. GR.^VES OF EARLY MISSIONARIES IN EAST AFRICA. 22 The gain that came after. around him, and that was all. What had become of the grand plans these men had cherished for Africa ? They have been wonderfully fulfilled! If you could stand on those hills now you would see a Christian village, with a Christian church, and you might hear hymns of praise going up to God. The people could tell you of another Christian settlement down below the hills, on the beautiful harbour, called Frere Town, where hundreds of people are living happily, who were once poor slaves in chains and starving. They could tell you of numbers of missionaries who have gone far into the country, north and west, carrying the Gospel message, and of the Word of God known and read and loved in Giriama, in Usagara, in Uganda, and a great deal more that I V4 |J r .' 'A > - m at the sight, and he wondered if Christians at home really loved their Lord, while they let these black people far away go on in darkness and wickedness. There are many missionaries, as you know, on the Congo now, and God has greatly blessed their work. So we hope that by - and - by they will make their way up the Mobangi, and that the heathen there may be turned " from the power of Satan unto God." Up the great river of Egypt, the Nile, where many people go for pleasure, for health, or to explore the country, a lady .■' r ■ i ' ■^ ? * w^ ■'Ui NIGER SCENES. used to travel with portions of Scripture to give to the people at the different places on its banks. This she did in her holiday time, for she was mostly hard at work in the city of Cairo, gathering in the poor ragged children, and teaching them the Word of God. But it 30 Seven hundred miles of Canal. IS some years since this lady, Miss M. Whate- ly, was called home to the Saviour's pre- sence. It was at one time hoped that mis- sionaries would be able to reach the interior of Africa by the Nile, and some did go a con- siderable dis- tance by the river, but the difficulties were too many to render it a good highway. Passing by India, without time to see its great rivers, not even the sacred ~ Ganges, we must take a glance at the rivers of China. Look them out on the map. The Chinese found out long ago that a journey by water was the best means of getting about their country, and they dug canals to join one river with another, and make these water roads more perfect. One of these, the Grand Canal, is nearly 700 miles long. There are boats continually passing up and down the rivers, some with merchandise, and others carrying passengers from place to place. They have regular hours for iy!Ot.alnl (See p. 29.) An uncomfortable Journey. 31 ON THE YANG-TSE RIVER AT ICHANG. (S'ge ^. 33.) stopping at the crowded jetties where the passengers are waiting to be picked up, and for ten casJi, or one halfpenny, you can travel thirty or forty miles ! But you must not expect to be very comfortable for that price. You may find yourself in such a crowd of Chinamen that you can hardly move, and if you are going against the wind you may find the water rather closer than is pleasant, sometimes even coming right into the boat. But if you like to pay extra they will give you a cabin to yourself You would enjoy the sight of the tall mountains towering up into the sky, and the wonderful gorges, and the busy towns where the water is covered with other boats. Some of these are steamers, some are junks with one mast and a square sail, and some are boats rowed with oars. BO\T \bCENDIN R\PIDb JN CHINEbl R1\LK Five Tiny Rooms. 33 But these voyages are not without danger. Far away from the sea, up among the mountains, there are rapids where the bed of the river suddenly sinks several feet, and the water rushes swiftly down hill. There are no locks, as in England, by which boats can be brought in safety through these dangerous places. A number of men on the shore pull the boats up the rapids by stout ropes. Now and then, however, it happens that the rope breaks, the boat is dashed back by the current, and if unhurt, the work of pulling it up has to be begun over again. In the worst places passengers are not allowed to remain in the boat, but are put on shore, and have to make their way to the next safe place for taking the boat again. Going down the rapids requires great skill on the part of the boatmen, but accidents do not often happen. I hardly know what the missionaries would do without these ways of getting into the country ; even by boat it takes two or three months to reach the far interior. A party went out in 1891 who were bound for the inland province of Sz-chuen. They landed at the port of Shanghai, and from Shanghai you can go by steamer as far up the Yang-tse-kiang as the town of Ichang. But as they were going a good way beyond Ichang they hired two house-boats at Hankow, one for the men and one for the women. The women's boat was seventy feet long and twelve wide. The captain and crew occupied both ends, and the travellers a sort of little house in the middle, with five tiny rooms — not too much for eight women and two children. They were very thankful that on this boat there were " no rats, beetles, or insects," and the water did not get in. One day they ran into a mud bank, where a boat will sometim.es stick for weeks together. They turned at once to their Father in heaven : God heard their prayer, and very soon they were afloat again. Another time they had only just put into a little sheltering creek for the night when a ON THE BANKS OF THE YANG-TSE RIVER, 34 " TJiey could not stay!' storm of wind came rushing down the river, and the boats outside were tossed about in all directions. Before leaving Ichang, where the boat was prepared for going up the rapids, the boatman killed a fowl, and sprinkled the blood over the boat in patches, sticking a few feathers in each patch. Then they lighted candles and put them in the bows of the boat, together with sticks of incense and bowls of vegetables. This was an offering to their gods, by means of which they hoped to secure a prosperous voyage. Sometimes the boat passed by villages on the river's bank, and the people came out to stare at the foreigners. At one place where the missionaries went on shore the poor women took hold of their hands, and said : " Come and live with us, and then we can learn about your God." But they could not stay, and no one has yet been to teach these poor villagers. Sometimes, amongst the loveliest scenery on the river banks, the hearts of the travellers were saddened by seeing idols carved in the rock and painted with gay colours. I am glad to tell you these dear missionaries reached their destination in safety, and are doing all they can to make known the good tidings of God's love in these far-off cities of China. Now we must bid farewell to China and take a leap right across the Pacific Ocean to North- West America. What a contrast to the country we have just left ! No vast population, no great cities, no busy merchants, no industrious labourers, no well-cultivated land with its corn and rice-fields. One of the great Chinese cities contains more people than all North- West America. The " Indians," as the natives are called, are scattered over the country, far apart from one another, and most of them live by hunting. There are some fertile patches of land, but the greater part is forest or prairie. But in one respect there is a likeness to China. The country abounds in noble rivers, and you can travel over a great part of it almost entirely by water — that is to say, when the rivers and lakes are not frozen, as most of them are in winter ! Not, however, by regular passage boats, as in China, except here and there on the larger rivers, where there are now steamers belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company. The Indian canoe is a light, frail boat, made of birch-wood. In many of the rivers the current is very swift, and it is hard work going against the stream. Descending the river is not without danger either, as there are rocks in the way, and now and then the banks get undermined by the Well Worth." 35 water, and a great piece gets loose and topples over into the river. Some- times the scenery is very beautiful, as the river winds between steep rocks and wooded hills, and the trees, and ferns, and flowers come down to the water's edge. But there is no shelter for the traveller, as in the Chinese boats. A missionary had to bring liis sick wife for many miles in an open boat that she might get the nursing and proper food she required. At times the journey is very monotonous. There is nothing to be seen but a few log huts on the bank, and here and there a " fort " belonging to the Company. Yet this wide, lone land is a part of God's earth, and it is well worth these long voyages to reach the precious souls there for whom Christ died, though they may be few in number. A missionary on the Peace River was telling one of the " Beaver " Indians the Gospel story. After speaking for some time he stopped, thinking the man would be tired. But the Indian said, " Why do you stop .' Go on, go on. I am starving to hear such words. I have never heard them before." I wish I could tell you of the Red River, where the first Mission stations were planted, of the Saskatchewan flowing right across the country from the Rocky Mountains westward, and the great Mackenzie, with its large tributaries, and the rivers on the Pacific Coast where Bishop Ridley has done such stirring work, and many others. Don't you think we ought to thank God that he has made these roads of waters by which His Gospel may be carried to the many thousands still waiting for it ? And will you pray that many more missionaries may go up and down them with the joyful news .? CHAPTER V. SPREADING PLAINS; OR, PRAYER AND PAINS. PLAINS! Wide stretches of land, flat as far as the eye can see; very uninteresting and monotonous, you say. Yet there are plains that are very interesting indeed to some people. I remember travelling through a part of Belgium where the country was very flat. It was all cut up into little fields full of different kinds of corn and vegetables. It certainly was not pretty to look at, but I have no doubt it was very interesting to the people who owned the fields, who ploughed the ground and sowed the seed, and tended the plants, and watched for the harvest. You may be sure they liked the flat ground better than hills and rocks. And I suspect that you like the little flat bit of garden which is your own, where you sow your own seed and gather your own flowers, better than the bank where the wild primroses grow. It is just the same in the Mission-field. Wherever ground has been claimed for the Divine Master, and precious seed has been sown, the place is full of interest to all who have had a share in the work. I am going to take you to some of the great plains of India. If you look at the map you will see that India is something the shape of a V. Just at the point of the V, but a little on your right hand, you will find a country about the size of Yorkshire, called Tinnevelly. It is not a pretty country generally. It is mostly a great plain stretch- ing from the Ghats mountains on the west to the seashore on the east, with a few bare rocks scattered here and there. In the larger part, which is fertile, you would see broad fields of rice and cotton, and I daresay the people are proud of their fields. But the southern part is miles and miles of A useful Tree. 37 dry sand, except for a few oases, green patches, where the people are able to sow a little. This sand is dotted over with groves of tall, straight, stiff palmyra trees, which strike their roots so deep into the soil that they are able to find moisture. They grow to a height of sixty or eighty feet, and are bare nearly all the way, with a beautiful crown of leaves at the top. The palmyra is a most useful tree. The leaves serve to roof the houses, and they are also used for writing-paper. They are cut into thin strips, and then the pretty Tamil letters are written, or rather engraved, on them with an iron pen. But the best part of the palmyra is its sap, which is made into sugar, and forms the principal food of the people. The sap oozes out of the bark, and is collected in small vessels, and the Shanars climb the tall trees for this purpose two or three times a day. But these industrious people have a very dreadful religion. The place of worship in every heathen village is 2. pei kovil, or devil's house, and the worship consists of wild dances and singing and offerings to turn away the anger of the evil spirits. In the great city of Tinnevelly is a temple to Siva, the Destroyer, one of the chief Hindu deities, and his wife. There are a thousand Brahmins to wait upon these images and take care of the treasures A MISSION STATION IN TINNEVELLY. PALMYRA PALMS. {Seep. 27-) "Muck too holy." which are supposed to belong to them ; there is a tank for them to bathe in, and a platform where they sit in the cool ! Missionaries have been working in the Tinnevelly country for more than a hundred years. Even before the Church Missionary Society was founded there were a few Chris- tians here. The Society has worked here since 1820, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel has also done a great deal for the people. At first it was only the southern part of the district that heard the Gospel, and the converts were mostly found among the poor, despised Shanars. But in 1854 Mr. Ragland, Mr. Fenn, and Mr. Meadows began to visit the northern part, carrying their goods in carts drawn by bullocks, and pitching their tents wherever they could find a little shade — for the sun is very hot in Tinnevelly ! They talked to all who would listen, and gave away portions of Scripture. At first it was hard to get a hearing, and the people would throw dust at them and order them away. One farmer who read the Scripture portion given him said that the religion of Jesus was good, but much too holy for a Hindu. He did not believe a Hindu could really lead a Christian life, and thought those who professed to do so did it for the sake of pay ! At last he went to stay with a Christain native, to watch how he got on, and he A PALMYRA CLIMBER. (See p. 37.) Lonz Names. 39 soon saw that this man was living a new Hfe ! His heart was touched, he aslced that he too might be baptized, and he became a true follower of the Lord Jesus. Some of the Christians left their heathen homes and settled in a place together, making a little Christian village. They would there build a little church, with a roof of palmyra leaves, and get a Native minister for it. " THEY TALKED TO ALL WHO WOULD LISTEN." The first of these Native pastors was the Rev. John Devasagayam, whose portrait I remember being shown at a children's missionary meeting when I was a little girl. He was ordained in 1830. The Christian villages often have very pretty names. One is called Kadachapuram, or "Grace Village" ; another, Suviseshapuram, or " Gospel Village." I think you will like the English names best. Another is the village of " True Wisdom," or Meng- nanapuram. Try to remember this name, for the village is the most green oasis. remarkable one of all. It was situated in such a desert of sand that the natives called the place Saba Nil- ano (" Soil under a Curse ") ; but Mr. Thomas, who went to live there in 1837, dug wells and improved the place, and soon the sandy desert was changed into a green oasis. Here the precious seed of the Gospel took root and grew in many hearts. Mr. Thomas laboured here for thirty-three years, and had the joy of seeing twelve boys whom he had taught ordained as ministers to their own countrymen. There are several mission stations now in North Tinnevelly, all under the care of Native pastors. In the town of Palamcotta, opposite the heathen city of Tinnevell}', on the other side of the river, is a Christian college for boys, and there are several schools. I daresay you have heard of the Sarah Tucker Institution, where Hindu girls are educated and sent out as teachers to their own countrywomen. There are more Christians in the Tinnevelly district than in any other part of India, and they have learned to love their fellow-Christians far away. When the converts in Uganda were in great distress through persecution, the Tinnevell)- Christians of their own accord made a collection and sent help to them, together with a letter full of affection and sympathy. And they care also for the heathen, even those whom they THE REV. JOHN THOMAS. Prayer and Pains. 41 have never seen. A woman of the poorer class went from door to door, often to people of higher rank than herself, and collected money to help the Santhal Mission far away in Bengal. This woman prayed at every door before going in. She prayed and she took pains also. It \s prayer and pains that have raised up from among the worshippers of the devil these living witnesses for Christ. And they have made the flat, monotonous plains of Tinnevelly full of interest and delight to all who truly love the Lord. Now we must turn our steps north- ward. Start- i n g from Calcutta, a journey of about forty miles by rail brings us into the Nuddea District. This is not as large as Tinnevelly, not quite half the size. But besides towns such as Nud- dea, Krishna- gar, S anti- pore, Rana- g h a t, and others, it has three thousand villages and two million inhabitants. ^^ NUDDEA DISTRICT ASSOCIATED EVANGELISTS. {See p. 42.) 42 A busy Band. The plain is dotted with groves of trees, and in each grove there is a village almost hidden by the foliage. They are all built on ground which has been slightly raised above the level of the surrounding country, so that when the rainy season comes they may not be inundated. I do not think you would like to visit many of these villages in the rainy season. You might have to go by a cuiclia road, or rough cart track, and you might soon find yourself in a slough of mud, where the pony could hardly drag along the gig, or tuin-tuvi as it is called. But in the dry season you would be smothered with dust ! In some of the villages you would find a little church, but there are a great many where the people have never heard the Gospel. In some parts of the Nuddea District the people are very ready to listen to the story of God's love. But, alas ! there are so few to tell it. The misssionary who superintends the work lives at a village called Chupra. At Krishnagar there is a " Normal School " for training schoolmasters, and a Boarding School for girls. In the northern part of the district there is a band of " Associated Evangelists" at work. These are young lay mission- aries, with a clergyman as their leader, who live together and itinerate in the country round. Their headquarters are at Shikarpur, and thence they tra\'el about, living in tents, and preaching the Gospel to all who will listen. Sometimes the preaching tour is made by boat up the river, and some- times the missionaries have a watery journey without a boat, as you see in the pictures ! The women have little share in all this. They are accustomed to run away and hide themselves if they see a man coming. So a lady missionary determined to try and reach them. When the village women found that a mem Sahib (lady) had come to see them they were very delighted. One day when she had been out early and had closed her tent that she might have her breakfast quietly, the women gathered outside and began to talk. " Have you seen her .?" said one. "No, she is not showing herself to-day." Then after a little while they cried out, " Mem Sahib, are you not there ? Will you not let us see your face .? Are we to be so unfortunate as to go away without seeing you .'' " At another place where she had been telling the poor women about the Three Thousand Villages. 43 life of the Lord Jesus on earth, so different from the stories about Krishna, whom they had been taught to worship, they said — " These are not words to be heard only once ; we ought to hear them again and again. We are so ignorant, and worship our gods only because we don't know better. If we had such teaching as this often we should learn better." Can you wonder the lady felt very sad when she had to say good-bye to — -^^^ X— -- ^ 1. Ernijai 1b( an+s &+" c^St tfuavTerj. l^'ftAJlil^'flM m //. V^a t.n^e a-fnt^ tl>e fli^ft fot.ci. ' A WATERY JOURNEY WITHOUT A BOAT." these women, not knowing when she should be able to come and see them again } For she cannot spend all her time among the Heathen. The women in the Christian villages want teaching and caring for. I am glad to tell you another lady or two has gone to help her. But how can they ever get round three thousand villages .>' So don't forget to pray for the women in the plains of Nuddea ! CHAPTER VI. FOREST WAYS; OR, PAINS AND PRAISE. u ON'T you love a ramble through a wood, searching for primroses or wood-anemones, or blue-bells, or better, for wild strawberries ? There are no wild animals to be afraid of (unless, perhaps, a snake) : they were all got rid of hundreds of years ago. You can go out and picnic under the trees and enjoy yourself There are such charming paths to ex- plore, and such pretty little nooks to rest — or to hide in. So I daresay you wonder I should put the word "pains" so close to "forest." You think it should rather have been ''treat " or " p/eas/nr." But wait a little and you will see. Missionaries in Africa have often to travel by forest ways. If you have read stories of West Africa you must have come across the word "bush." The " bush " in Africa means land which has never been cleared for cultivation, where the trees and bushes have been allowed WEST AFRICAN FAN PALMS. A dangerous Jotirney. 45 to grow on without any attempt to cut them down. And the "bush ' is mostly forest, though it includes open spaces between. Some of these forests are very fine. The trees are tall and stately, and trailing plants climb all over them, and there is such a mass of green overhead that you cannot see the sky. There are parrots in the forest, and monkeys, and other animals not so harmless, but these seldom come near travellers, and at night any who may be passing through always light great fires to scare away such intruders. When Mrs. Hinderer (whose portrait we gave in Chapter II.) went out to Ibadan, in West Africa, in 1853, she travelled through many miles of forest, part of the way on horseback, and part of the way in a hammock carried by men. She was full of joy at being allowed to go so far to tell the poor Africans of the Saviour whom she loved. In the town of Ibadan she lived and laboured for the Lord seventeen years altogether. She had not only much work to do — work that she loved — but she had many hardships to bear, especially when there was war raging in the country, and she and her husband could get no supplies from England. That war came to an end, but another broke out, and Mrs. Hinderer was no longer so strong and able to endure. And at last good Governor Glover, of Lagos, sent messengers and horses up through the forest to Ibadan to bring her away. She had only a few hours to prepare for the journey, which was a dangerous one, and her husband could not come with her (he followed later on). One of the African :wx%.^'^?^^.^,^. OIL PALMS IN WEST AFRICA. 46 Babes tn the Bush. girls whom she had brought up, named Konigbagbe, insisted on coming with her to see her safely to the coast. They had to go a round-about way for fear of meeting the enemy, and in some places the forest was so thick that they had to get off their horses and walk. Poor Konigbagbe was not used to this, and her feet got dreadfully weary and sore before the journey was over. They dared hardly stop to rest for fear the enemy should find them out, and they did the whole of the journey, which usually took five days, in three. Very thankful they felt when they arrived safely at Lagos. Now I will tell you what I once heard from an African missionary (a black one !) about a forest journey. When the river Niger gets near the sea it divides into a number of streams, and empties its waters into the ocean by several mouths. I daresay you know that the land between the different mouths of a river is called a Delta, because it is the shape of a Greek " A," a " delta." There are several towns on the Niger Delta, and there are fields and farms, but a great part is "bush." One day this missionary saw a woman go off into the bush carrying a basket. He guessed what was in the basket, and what the woman was going to do. So he got into a boat and went up the river after her, till at last she disappeared from sight. Then he waited for a while, and when he thought she had gone home again he got out of the boat and went in among the trees to look for what she had left there. At length he came to a dark nook, and what do you think he found ? A little baby, left alone to die ! Why was the mother so cruel .'' It was not that she did not care for her baby, but she did not dare to keep it. It was one ol twins, and she had been taught that the gods she worshipped would be very angry if it were allowed to live. In some places it is the custom to put both twins to death. The missionary carried the poor child to a place of safety, and whenjt was older he told the mother he had rescued it. She was very frightened at first, but when he showed her that no harm had come of it she was very glad. I am happy to say that this cruel custom has been given uft'in some ylaces. I don't think you would like some of the East African forests at all. You might be amused at first to follow the narrow, winding path, where travellers walk in single file, one behind the other. But by-and-by you might come to a place where the branches are so thick that they would spectacles in Danger . 47 have to be cut away with a hatchet before you could pass. I have heard, too, of a missionary getting his spectacles caught in the creepers that hung from the trees, and nearly losing them ! And you would not like the thorns which actually drop down upon your head in some parts. Then think of travelling through a forest, with the hot sun scorching you all the time. How is this .'' Sometimes the trees, though standing thick together, are not very tall, or have not sufficient leaves to give any real shade. But there is one forest which travellers are delighted to reach. This is partly because the way to it lies across a hot plain, where no water can be found, and partly because it is really a beautiful place. The forest of A SCENE IN WEST AFRICA. Grand and Beautiful. Taveta is about fifteen miles long and three miles broad. The entrance is guarded by a fence, and there is a gate through which you must crawl on your hands and knees. At sunset it is closed, and if you arrive a few minutes late you have to stay outside all night. For there are plenty of people living in the forest, and they are rather particular who comes into their domain. If they do not like you they will shut the gate against you. Inside it seems quite a fairy land to the weary traveller. There are splendid trees, delicious shade, magnifi- cent ferns, running brooks, and there are open spaces with gardens of maize and Indian corn, and the little huts in which the people live. But in the rainy season it is said to be very damp, and very unhealthy for Europeans. It is only a short time that missionaries have been working at Taveta, but already the Gospels are being translated into the language of the people, and one boy has been baptized, and there are other candidates. Then there is a splendid forest which Bishop Tucker passed through last year (1892) on his way to Uganda. He travelled by what is called the new route, north-west from Frere Town and Rabai, and before reaching the Victoria Lake, he had to cross a steep, high ridge by a pass which led him through part of the great Kamasia forest. Here he found " trees towering up to the skies, creepers here, there, and everywhere, ferns, grasses, and mosses," altogether most grand and beautiful. Sometimes " the path was in semi-darkness, and at others the sunlight glistening through the boughs wrought a magical effect of light and shade." In India it is very different. You will find no great forests in the ordinary track of the missionary. You must go far from towns, and rail- ways, and roads, and rice fields, up among the hills. But Travancore in the south-west corner is a beautiful country of hills and forests. Only the forest is mostly called "jungle." Between forty and fifty years ago there was a missionary working in Travancore called Henry Baker. One day when he was sitting in his study his little daughter ran in, saying, " Oh ! papa, such strange-looking men are come to see you." These were some "Five Times zvc have been to call yoit! 49 of the Hill Arrians, one of the hill tribes I told you of in Chapter III. They had come to ask that they might have a teacher to live among them. Mr. Baker had no one to send, and he could not leave his own work. But the Arrians came again and again, and at last they said, " Five times we have been to call you. You must know that we know nothing right. Will you teach us or not .' We die like beasts and are buried like dogs. Ought you to neglect us .■' " The villages from which these men came were forty-five miles off, and the way to reach them was through the jungle, where there was no road. However, Mr. Baker promised to travel thirty miles to meet them if they would guide him the rest of the way. The following week he set off with his brother, and after a long journey they came by a narrow path to the banks of a river, where they expected to find the men. But there was SCENE IN TAVETA. {Sketch by Bishop Tucker.) 50 A night Conference. no one there, and they had to camp out in the jungle alone. Next morning they followed an elephant track along the river, and at length they found their friends, who took them on to one of the villages, shouting all around to let others know that the missionary had arrived. When evening came, about 200 people had assembled, and a conference was held by the light of the moon and blazing piles of wood. Mr. Baker read them some passages from the Bible, telling of the need of a Saviour, and of the love of God in sending His Son. They talked on together ^. till midnight, and then Mr, YB Baker knelt downand ,' -S asked for God's help ■ S^S^f* ^6S(Sr' ^^^ blessing, and repeated 1 i the Lord's Prayer. He ' *^'Tpb r ^^"^ *-° return home again, rf?l**ftitftr but Native teachers were <''•'..' *''^K ^^'^^ '■^ ^'^^ Arrians were ^^^^^^^ 'fhi/i vm^kb ■ "°^ quick to learn, and .', ^^^^^^Oe^^ '^'^^^^